#379 Advantage Series# 3, Gifts of the Spirit

#379 Advantage Series# 3, Gifts of the Spirit
By: Zach Sloane

(See download links at the bottom of the page for the Sermon, PowerPoint & Group Discussion Questions)

John 16:7 NKJV
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”

He was promising to send us a person, who is God, and who is our Helper.

See last week’s sermon for notes on the gift of tongue and the difference between cessationist and continuationist positions. We are continuationists!
http://www.impactlondon.ca/378-advantage-series-2-are-tongues-really-necessary/

We do believe they are for today, for us! Not expressed where not believed!

INTRO

Going to look at Gifts of Spirit: What are they? How do they work, and What are they for? But first…

Foundational Points

1 Cor. 3:11 “no foundation can be laid, other than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.”

Foundations are important; sometimes it’s our supporting beliefs, ideas, or mental pictures that make us in effective, rather than anything to do with the actual gifts of the Spirit themselves.

1. God wants you to value the gifts, and to use them!

Romans 8:32 “But God who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us, who will He also not along with Him freely and graciously give us all things.”

1 Corinthians 14:1 (NKJV)
“Pursue love, and desirespiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.”

DESIRE : zéloó: to be jealous
Original Word: ζηλόω
Transliteration: zéloó

HELPS Word-studies
“to be deeply committed to something, with the implication of accompanying desire – ‘to be earnest, to set one’s heart on, to be completely intent upon’ ” (L & N, 1, 25.76). See 2205 (zēlos).

Same word used for sinful coveting in James 4:2.

James 4:2 (NKJV)
You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

God wants us to set our hearts upon them, to be completely intent upon them. It is not idolatrous, nor is it proud, its God’s idea.

2. They are a vital and necessary component to God’splan.
We have same calling as Jesus… to make God known, to display His glory. John 17:18 “as you sent me into the world, so I am sending them.”

Gifts and power are vital to represent and make God known, it’s who He is. When questioned by the religious leaders Jesus said:
John 10:37-38 “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”

“ For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20

3. They are for YOU! YOU arequalified!

A lot of people know they’re for today,just not for them. That God wants you to covet them, but they somehow have yet to qualify for them. Trying to get holy, get sin out of their lives in order to be used. But is thisbiblical?

The same spirit who wants to see His power flow through you to glorify Jesus by working a miracle, is the same Spirit who is showing you the truth about sin: that your sin is dealt with… it’s gone.

Jesus disciples:
Luke 9:1-2 Jesus gives his disciples all power and authority to cure diseases and cast out demons.

Luke 9:32 Peter, James and John see Jesus transfigured.

Luke 9:46… After being given power, after seeing Jesus transfigured, they got so puffed up they start arguing over who was the greatest.

Luke 9:54 James and John want to use their new found power to commit murder. Call fire down from heaven because some Samaritans wouldn’t accept Jesus.

Spirit filled New Testament believers in Corinth.
Paul described this church as “not lacking in any spiritual gift” 1 Cor. 1:7.

These guys had the gifts, they knew who to use them, they were second to none. They got results, yet…

1 Corinthians 1:10-11 factions, divisions,

1 Cor. 3:3 fleshy, not ready for solid food, full of jealousy and quarrelling … 1 Cor. 5:1 immorality that would shock the world, and they were proud ofit.

1 Cor. 11:20-23 At their communion service they would get drunk, feast, and somehow humiliate the poor…

and these guys in the Bible are healing the sick, prophesying, doing miracles, discerning spirits… all the good stuff that we aren’t doing because “we just need to get a little more holy, a little more mature, a little closer to Jesus.”

Ultimately, sin isn’t the issue, neither is your own good works or piety. If you’re behaviour is bad He loves you enough let you partner with Him anyways, and He loves you enough to talk to you about your bad behaviour. Its not one or the other!

They are not just reserved for a special category of minister with a special calling and gifting.

Jesus said in Mark 16:17-18 “And these signs will follow those who believe:

Believers! Believers in any and all stations and walks of life.

The gifts are His gifts, not ours. He possesses them and manifests them as he wills. We have different functions and callings and personalities and gifting etc… and because they are the Spirit’s gifts you can manifest themno matter what your station or function or calling or position is inlife.

What Are They?

Differentiated from the motivational gifts found in Romans 12:6-8.These gifts are given by the Father and they speak to the way that God created you, your basic motivations, your intrinsic makeup as aperson.

Differentiated from what are known as the Ascension gifts in Ephesians 4:7 where its says “and He gave some [as] apostles, and some [as] prophets, and some [as] proclaimers of good news, and some [as] shepherds and teachers,”

These are the Ascension gifts that Jesus gives to His body for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. These are gifts of humans… men and women.

But what we refer to when we talk about the gifts of the Spirit is this:

1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NKJV)
8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Gifts:
the word of wisdom: special insight into what to do in a given situation, God- given “know how.”

word of knowledge : know something, details, about someone or something that you couldn’t have known otherwise.

faith: You can’t explain it but you just believe something is going to happen, you believe God to do something, and you can’t be shaken from it till you see the results.

Gifts of healings: lost of gifts, because healing happening many ways

Working of miracles: eg. Loaves and fishes

Prophecy: both predictive and /or an encouraging, edifying, exhortation message right from Jesus’ heart in the present moment.

discerning of spirits: human / divine / angelic/ demonic

different kinds of tongues: see last week interpretation of tongues: interpret the tongues

I hope you can see an application for each of these gifts in your life and ministry. Your life is a ministry. It can be very natural. But, if you’re looking for neon signs to tell you when to use them or an angelic choir to celebrate after you have, you probably wont get very far.

All these gifts are referred to as charisms.

1 Cor. 12:4 “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.”

Gifts = charisma: a gift of grace, a free gift
Original Word: χάρισµα, ατος, τό
Definition:a gift of grace, a free gift

Free gift : same word is used to describe eternal life.

Romans 6:23 (NKJV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God iseternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.

How Do they Work.

No formula, just faith!

Galatians 3:5 “ Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

Miracles have to be worked.

Sometimes, the gifts have to be stirred up. Holy Spirit is in you, he wills to bless and heal and speak, so you need to stir yourself up, have faith and confidence, and act on it. It takes action.

John G Lake said this “Beloved, it takes faith to exercise your gift of God. There are just lots of people around everywhere who have gifts of God, and they are lying dormant in their lives, and their is no value for the kingdom of God through them because of the fact they have no faith in God to put the gift in exercise and get the benefit of it…We cannot exercise anything beyond what we believe to be possible.”1

Real faith, the faith that gets results and carries a substantial quality to it is the kind that has an expression, but that expression has a certain flavour….

Galatians 5:6 New International Version (NIV)
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

What Are they For?

1 Cor. 12:7 ”But the manifestation of the spirit is given for the profit of all.”

Definition:to bring together, to be profitable
Original Word: συµφέρω
Transliteration:sumphero

HELPS Word-studies
4851 symphérō (from 4862 /sýn, “together with” and 5342/phérō, “bring, carry”) – properly, combine in a way that brings a profit (gain)

There are two parts to that word profit, to connect, bring to gather and to benefit or profit. There is the actual profitable benefit that the gift brings and there is an element in which the exercising of the gift facilitates a connection between the people involved and God.

Brene Brown
“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”

1 John G. Lake John G. Lake: His Life His Sermons His Boldness of Faith, (Forth Worth TX.: Kenneth Copeland Publications, 1994), 145 & 149.

So an example of what is meant by the whole range of the word profit is this: e.g. someone manifests the gifts of healing and someone is healed in their body + a relational connection between persons and God happens.
That whole transaction equals PROFIT. RESULTS + CONNECTION = PROFIT

1 Cor. 12:31- 13:2
“Earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet, I show you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have notlove, I amnothing.

1 Cor. 14:1 AMP. “Pursue [this] love [with eagerness, make it your goal], yet earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual gifts…”

Earnestly pursue : diókó: to put to flight, pursue, by impl. to persecute
Original Word:διώκω
Definition: to put to flight, pursue, by implication to persecute

HELPS Word-studies
1377 diṓkō – properly, aggressively chase, like a hunter pursuing a catch (prize).

Hunt down, chase after love, and in doing so, covet spiritual gifts as a way to manifest and demonstrate God’s tangible love for others.

“There is no power from God that is separated from love”2

2 Shawn Bolz, Translating God: Hearing God’s Voice For Yourself and the World Around You
(Glendale, CA.: ICreate Productions), 51.

379 Advantage Series# 3, Gifts of the Spirit, PowerPoint Slides

379 Advantage Series# 3, Gifts of the Spirit, Sermon Notes, click to open

Week #11 – Group Discussion Questions, click to open